Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

The Help
America Vote Act (HAVA) is an item of
United
States federal
election law signed in to law on October 29, 2002 by President Bush. Under HAVA, a
new federal voter registration form was created. HAVA guarantees the ability of individuals
to cast a provisional ballot and have the validity of their registration checked later
if they do not appear on voter registration rolls.

Main
Points of HAVAThe
law encourages states to replace
punch card and lever voting machines and requires:

·voters
to show ID before voting

·states
to provide provisional ballots for voters whose registration status in unclear when
they arrive to vote

·states
to provide a way for those with impaired vision or hearing to cast a secret ballot

·states
to make polling locations and voting machines accessible to voters with physical disabilities

·voting
machines to allow voters to verify ballots before they are cast

·voters
be able to correct a mistake or leave a blank, i.e., not cast a vote in a particular
contest

·voters
be notified if they "misvote," i.e., cast votes for two different candidates running
for the same office. Voters must also be told if a misvote will void their ballot

·voting
systems to leave a record that can be audited

·voting
systems to leave a permanent paper record that can be used as an official record should
a recount become necessary

·that
states, in some cases, provide ballots for voters who don't speak English

·states
to create and maintain electronic voter registration databases and improve efforts
to remove ineligible voters from the registration rolls

·states
to offer sample ballots for voters to review before the date of the election

·absentee
voters to provide copies of IDs or an ID number for voter verification, but states
must maintain the secrecy of the vote